The Kitchen Xaldin
by Naminedeservesacloak
Summary: Pranks plus  bitchy witches plus  asshole Xemnas plus  odd effects of magic equals  one fun day in the sun...or is that underwater? XD RoxasxNamine peoples! *smiles and blushes*


**The Kitchen Xaldin**

**By: Naminedeservesacloak**

"Is everyone ready to go? We're going to be leaving for Earth soon!", Xemnas called. Everyone nodded and I stared up at him. He didn't seriously want me to go to? If I get completely wet and someone saw me... I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off.

"No, I don't want to hear it! You are going with us Namine, don't even try to weasel your way out of it. No one wants to give up their one day of vacation to watch you just because you couldn't handle one little sea hag. You are going on my boat and you will not go into the water or make a scene at all! Got that?" Forcing as much hatred as I could into my glare, I nodded and stormed off to my room.

I jerked my hair up into a bun and tossed on a cleaner shirt. That selfish asshole! He knew why I shouldn't go and yet he was forcing me to go anyway! Stifling an angry scream, I snatched up my sketchbook and sprinted upstairs. Moments like this always made me long for the peace and quiet of my room in Castle Oblivion. This trip was going to be torture for me, and he knew it.

Sometimes I really hated him.

: )

"Wow Xemnas, there are so many people here..."

"Well, it is the Fourth Of July in this world. People must be celebrating it by boating, like us", he replied, smiling happily at me.

Seething on the inside, I flashed him a weak smile. His eyes brightened and he appeared puzzled for a brief moment. Satisfied I was out of trouble, he walked off below deck, leaving me to stew on the bow. Feeling myself becoming too dry already, I casually opened my Heartless umbrella and sighed. A dry wind gently blew a few strands of hair away from my face. All around the boat kids laughed and splashed in the murky water. My memory of a heart thumped painfully in my chest, the beautiful refreshing waves filling my vision.

Pressing my palm to the surface of the water, I sighed happily as I traced lazy circles in the glittering water. A few fish greeted me, slowly rubbing against my fingers. A smile slid onto my face. It might not have been the ocean, but it was close enough. A deep sense of peace filled my body, begging me to come back to the ocean, where I truly belonged. I sighed and tried to shut out the voices that Ursula had implanted in my mind like the cruel bitch she was.

I couldn't help it, the need to go into the water was too great. I stood up, snapping my umbrella shut, and tossed another glare in the direction of Xemnas. If anything happened it was his fault for bringing me here. Gritting my teeth, I gingerly stepped down into the water. The cool water circled around my thighs, soaking the hem of my skirt.

Suddenly, one of the boys who was playing farther out in the water called what sounded like my name. I turned around, surprised, in time to see a figure duck under the water in my direction. He couldn't possibly have been talking to me...right? The other Organization members were in the other side of the pond, terrified of being anywhere near Xemnas. I shook my head and turned around. He must have been talking to someone else.

"Namine! I didn't know Xemnas would let you come here today! This is so awesome...and why aren't you in a bathing suit?" Shocked to hear Roxas's voice, I spun around. My mouth dropped open in spite of myself when I saw him just standing there, water dripping off of him. His spikes were gradually bobbing back up into place as usual and the color of his swimsuit matched his eyes perfectly. He looked so unintentionally sexy that my breath snagged in my throat.

"Um, I don't have a suit on because...um...my blue one ripped and I only have one good one in the castle..." My voice squeaked a little at the end, but if he noticed he didn't say anything. He only smiled and nodded as if my logic made perfect sense.

"So, do you want to come over to the other Organization boat and get away from the Superior? It's the one named Kitchen Xaldin. Axel burned the letters into the side on the way over as a joke." He pointed over to the edge of the pond filled with big speedboats all tied together, party style. The other members had obviously been making friends, and had weaseled their way into a party line. Sure enough, the one on the end had the name Kitchen Xaldin emblazoned on the back of it in dark blue letters. My heart sank to the bottom of my chest as I realized that the boat was in water that was far too deep for me.

"I...can't Roxas. The water is too deep for me over there. I'm sorry" He glanced over at the boat and shrugged. Without any warning, he leaned down and scooped me up, making sure that I was above the water. My heartbeat slammed into overdrive, dusting my cheeks pink and making me gasp for breath.

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to carry you then, won't I?" I could feel my face heat up even more as he began carefully walking through the water. hearing the waves calling beneath me, I shuddered in his arms. If he dropped me...I dreaded to think about what would happen. A particularly large wave surface a few feet away and crashed into us, nearly knocking me out of his arms. Before I could catch it, a shriek tore it's way out of my throat as I buried my face in his chest, trying vainly to drown out the crying of the waves. He stopped and looked down at me, concern filling his deep blue eyes.

"Namine...are you scared of the water?" I shook my head no, too scared to talk. A few catcalls and pleas asking us to get a room, mainly from Larxene, forced him to look up. The whole Organization, minus Xemnas and Saix of course, watched us from various boats with laughter in their eyes as he told them all to shut up. Demyx, Axel, and Luxord jumped off the back of the boat next to us, cannonballing with as much force as they could. Sensing my fear, Roxas quickly shielded me with his body as Demyx continued splashing us, trying to soak us both.

"Stop it! She's scared of the water and she's not even wearing a bathing suit you moron! I said STOP!", Roxas yelled, his body curled protectively around me. The water barrage gradually slackened off and he smiled at me apologetically. Without another word he put me next to the swim ladder and climbed onto the boat next to me. After our breathing had quieted down, he stood back up and offered me his hand.

"Come on, let's go up to the bow and dry off." I nodded and let him lead me to the bow, picking up a few towels along the way.

"Thanks for carrying me by the way", I said sincerely. If he hadn't protected me...I probably would have been turned into a Dusk. He smiled at me and spread his towel next to mine.

"You're welcome, it wasn't any trouble at all. But why have you never mentioned that you are that scared of the water?" I took a deep breath and fiddled with the rough edge of the towel.

"I'm not scared of the water itself, I'm scared of what will happen if I submerge in it entirely. I had a...bad experience with Ursula the last time I went to Atlantica. She cast a rather powerful spell on me and now, whenever my legs get completely wet they turn into a fish tail. Xemnas said that if I make any sort of scene he would turn me into a Dusk...or worse" He was silent for a few more moments, deep in thought.

"So...why do you have legs instead of a tail right now? I mean, your legs got plenty wet from the walk to the boat", he finally asked, a smile forming on his face. Was that really what he had been thinking about?

"Because my legs never got completely wet, and that includes my hips", I said simply. He nodded as if that made sense and stood up. He walked toward the back of the boat and worry washed over me. What if he told someone and Vexen wanted to experiment on me? This was exactly what the Superior was trying to avoid! Nervous as all hell over what he was doing, I casually laid back on the bow, trying to calm the spastic butterflies in my stomach.

A few minutes later I heard his footsteps walk up next to me. A piece of fabric was thrown in my face and I squeaked in surprise, sitting up as quickly as I could. Suppressing a laugh, Roxas flopped down and retrieved the fabric from where it had fallen. Dangling on the edge of his fingers, a really cute dark blue bathing suit swung slowly from when he had picked it up. My jaw dropped open and I just stared at him.

"I want to see your tail." I looked around the boat quickly, praying that no one had heard that. No one reacted, but I was sure we were now the cause of more than a few sideways glances, from Vexen especially.

"You don't understand, I can't! Xemnas will yell at me and punish me." Tears blurred my vision as I stared at the deck of the boat, avoiding the shimmering waves. He sat up and pulled my face to his, forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Namine, I promise you that I will bring you back. I'm too selfish to let you go anyway." My heart fluttered as he wiped my tears away. Reluctantly, I picked up the bathing suit and smiled.

"Alright, fine. Where is the bathroom on this damn boat? I just can't take my clothes off on the bow in front of everyone." He laughed and pointed below deck. Jumping up, I scurried off to change.

A few minutes later, I walked back up to the bow and poked Roxas awake. Smiling, he stood up and gently grasped my hand. Together we took a running start and jumped into the cool water.

Almost immediately, my legs began to tingle and buckle. As my bones crunched and melted together, silvery blue scales coated my legs from the waist down. My powerful swimming muscles slid into place as my feet thinned out into my fin. Pain seared along my throat as my gills ripped free from my neck. Suddenly a pair of arms tightly wrapped themselves around my waist, pulling me toward the bright edge of the surface.

Breaking through the thin barrier, I sucked in a greedy breath before wiping water out of my eyes. My lungs burned until I lowered myself back down in the water, coating my gills in oxygen-rich water. Roxas just stared. Carefully keeping my tail underwater, I swam around him in circles.

"Wow", he breathed, "You weren't kidding!"

I laughed, letting the joy of the ocean spill over into my voice. He hesitated, eyes full of worry, before he slipped a hand underwater and began slowly stroking my tail. A hot burst of pleasure shot up my spine, embedding itself in the base of my skull. I could feel my face flush, my tail slowly curling and uncurling. "Roxas?", I stuttered, my pulse thrumming into overdrive.

"What?", he asked, still stroking my tail. Fully embarrassed now, my face turned an even deeper shade of crimson.

"Um, how do I put this...What you're doing with my tail is the sexual equivalent of me giving you a hand-job. Mermaid's tails are very sensitive", I blurted out. He blushed furiously, but didn't stop. Keeping a firm grip on my tail, he leaned closer.

"Does that mean I have to stop?", he asked, his breath fanning my face. My neck muscles went completely limp and I fell forward onto his chest.

"Yes you do, there are people around!", I panted. He laughed and pulled me closer to the boat, out of view of most of the pond. Nervously, I twisted out of his grip. "So, you don't mind that magic doesn't work right on me? I mean Ursula said it would even be hard to heal me", I whispered. He smiled and puled me closer to him again.

"Namine, I will always think you are beautiful, nothing will ever change that, you silly goose." My memory of a heart hummed in happiness and the whole ocean felt it. I laughed.

"You do realize that when you say that my heart melts right? I love you right back by the way." He chuckled and lightly kissed me on the forehead. Suddenly the light in his eyes began to sparkle deviously.

"Hey, how long can you stay underwater?"

"Indefinitely. The magic gives me a complete set of gills."

"Can you...exhale some of the air you produce with your gills? I want to try something", he explained. I thought about it for a moment and then nodded yes. Hooking a foot through the anchor loop, he held my waist loosely.

"Alright, then I want you to try to give me some of your spare air, okay? I want to conduct an experiment to see how long we can stay underwater, in case one of us doesn't transform the next time we are in Atlantica, or something like that. I'm going to time us using my watch. Ready?" I gulped nervously and nodded yes, not trusting my voice to stay steady if I spoke. He smiled reassuringly and pulled me flat against his chest, dragging me down into the murky water.

Once under, he carefully fastened himself to the anchor so we wouldn't float up. Trying not to hurt him, I curled my tail around his legs so I wouldn't float away from him. He motioned for air and I linked my arms around his neck, as I gathered air in my mouth and pursed my lips.

Our lips met amid a torrent of bubbles as I exhaled oxygen and Roxas sucked it in as quickly as he could. Feeling his tongue slowly trace the shape of my teeth, I opened my eyes in shock. Just an experiment my ass! I felt him smile and chuckle as I stared directly into his eyes.

He squeezed my arm and I hesitantly breathed another breath out for him. He slid his tongue in all the way this time and I smirked. I was ready for him now. I flicked his tongue with my own and began to feel every corner of his mouth. He stilled and I pulled back, wondering what I had done wrong. He laughed and tightened his hold on my waist, the bubbles from his laughter pushing our hair away from our faces. Puffing his cheeks out dramatically, he squeezed my arm again.

I leaned forward, more confident this time. Our tongues became more formally introduced and I lost track of time as I tried to memorize Roxas's mouth. After a couple more shared breaths, I pulled back again and motioned for the surface.

He nodded and, after unhooking himself from the anchor, we drifted toward the surface, sharing yet another breath. Finally, we slid through the shimmering surface, the sudden light making my eyes hurt. "Wow, I'd definitely call that a successful experiment", laughed Roxas. Letting go of me, he backpedaled and began to drift lazily, staring up at the clouds.

"How long were we..."

"Under?"

"Yeah." I blushed. He smiled and glanced at his watch.

"About fifteen minutes. It's nice to know that my chances of drowning with you nearby are almost non-existent. You should come with us on boat trips. I'm sure we could test out my hypothesis some more. That is, until the effects of the magic wear off", he said smiling. My memory of a heart thrummed into overdrive as my face turned deep red again.

Suddenly, my stomach growled menacingly and he laughed.

"What's so funny?", I snapped. Flopping over, he grabbed my hand and started to pull me back toward the Kitchen Dan.

"Nothing, I was just laughing at how bad of a host I am. Here I was, just chatting away and I didn't even notice you were hungry" Without any warning at all, he picked me up out of the water and set me down on the swim ladder.

"H-hey! People can see my tail!", I whisper-yelled, panic filling up my chest.

"Don't worry. Grab a towel from behind you and cover up your tail" Blindly reaching behind me, I snatched up a big beach towel off the floor and carefully draped it around my tail. Tying a knot at the top to make a makeshift skirt, I sighed.

"Now what? I can't walk around now you know."

Roxas just smiled. "I guess I'll just have to carry you again" My face flushed and I looked down, trying to hide my blush. Making sure not to disturb my towel skirt, he plucked me off the ground and held me close to his chest. I sighed and tried to steady my breathing. Causing my weak heart to plunge into overdrive seemed to have become a habit of his. Carefully picking his way across the deck, he slid open the door leading below deck and headed to the kitchen area. Sliding me onto the bench seat in front of the table, he grabbed a couple sandwiches off the counter and brought them over.

"Those don't have any...red meat in them do they? I can eat meat from a land animal, but seafood or some sort of vegetables would be better for my stomach. There is a reason I'm always saying that I'm a vegetarian, y'know", I stammered.

He smiled. "Don't worry, yours is a veggie wrap. How could I ever forget your little aversion to red meat?", he laughed. Blush slowly crept over my face as I stammered out a thanks and bit into mine, eating it as quickly as I could. Apparently we were both pretty hungry because we were done eating in record time.

"Better now?" I nodded and leaned back into the bench cushion, trying to clear all the enticing voices of the ocean out of my mind. He draped an arm around my shoulders and I snuggled up to him, his heartbeat thudding dully in my ears. Air whooshed in and out of his lungs, lulling me to sleep. My eyes started to drift shut, but Roxas nudged me awake.

"Hey, um, your tail will turn back into legs, right? Not that your tail isn't gorgeous, but the rest of the members are going to wonder why I keep carrying you everywhere." I smirked and sat back up, yawning and stretching like a cat.

"Yes, once my tail dries completely it will change into a pair of scrawny human legs. Hopefully it will wear off soon, I don't want to have a tail forever. I'd have to live in Atlantica."

"That's not the worst place to have to live", he murmured. Without another word, he stood up and gathered up all the trash from the table. My back felt cold where he had been, and I scooted closer to the patch of sunlight on the end of the bench. Warm air drifted into the cabin from the open window over the sink and I stopped shivering.

"So, how long are you going to stay out here?", he asked suddenly. A little taken aback, it took me a moment to remember what my Xemnas had said to the rest of the Organization on the way over here.

"Not much longer, Xemnas will probably want me to go back over soon", I said sadly. Leaning down in front of me, he extended his arms and quirked his eyebrows. Getting the hint, I wrapped my arms around his neck, allowing him to pick me up yet again. Pushing open the door in the front of the boat, he carefully stepped through into a bedroom.

"I don't want you falling asleep later, okay? Go ahead and get comfy, I'll swim over and ask if you can stay the night on our boat. We weren't planning on leaving until morning anyway, so you can just switch back over to your boat in the morning", he said quietly. My eyes already closing, I wrapped the blanket around myself and scooted closer to the big pillow in the center of the bed. I barely heard him chuckle and pad quietly out of the room before I was dreaming vivid dreams involving malfunctioning magic spells and underwater kisses.

: )

"Namine, wake up..." Ignoring the voice, I snuggled deeper into the covers. Despite my best efforts, a pair of arms snaked under the blanket and wrapped themselves around my waist, sitting me up. A light kiss on my nose finally made me open my eyes. Less than an inch from my face, Roxas loomed over me, completely supporting me in his arms. My absent heart lurched into overdrive yet again as I stared into his sparkling blue eyes.

"I assume Xemnas agreed to me staying over on your boat?" He nodded and leaned back from me. I wriggled my toes, happy to see that my legs had returned. Loud music thudded through the thin walls of the boat, The Walk by Imogen Heap blasting louder than I'd ever heard it played in public before.

"Yeah, they did. I told him that I knew about your...condition and he said it was okay with him. I woke you up in time to see the fireworks with me. Axel's on shore setting up the show for the rest of us."

"Fireworks?", I asked incrediously. He laughed at my gleeful expression, and pointed to the port hole closest to the shore. A dull pop sounded from outside and a splash of color danced across the room. Without a backward glance, I jumped up and raced to the bow. As I watched, bright flowers of blue, gold, red, green, purple, and yellow bloomed in the dark sky, wilting and falling gracefully into the ocean. Before long, an entire garden had been created in the sky, only to wilt and die and be replaced by another, each more colorful and ethereal than the last.

"They're so beautiful", I whispered, completely entranced.

"Yes, you are", Roxas said behind my left ear. After jumping about a foot in the air and checking to make sure my heart was still beating, I turned around and hugged him tightly.

"You are so corny! And it's not fair to use my weakness for fireworks like this", I muttered into his chest. He laughed and circled his arms around me, keeping the cold night air away. Pulling me over to a more comfortable part of the deck, he sat down, taking me with him. His body warmed up my own, making any sort of jacket totally unnessesary, despite how cold it was.

"You know, I think this is the one time in my life that I'm glad Xemnas can be a horrible bitch sometimes"

"Why?"

"Because I got to spend the day with the person I love most in the world"

"Now who's being corny?", he teased. Laying my head back, I smirked as I felt his laughter shake my head slightly. Maybe being forced to go one these mandatory fun outings with the rest of the Organization wasn't such a bad thing after all.

After all, any sort of terrible "group bonding session" was worth spending a whole day with Roxas. I just hoped Xemnas wouldn't kill me too much when we went back to the castle tomorrow.


End file.
